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Moe / Anime & Manga

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"Our documentary now focuses on the Moeblob... treat with care, they cry easily."

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    Specific Characters 
  • Ai Kora has a few straight examples (all the girls in Maeda's harem have their moe moments), but also parodies this in chapter 15, when Maeda's friend and fellow parts-lover Shibusawa becomes obsessed with moe after a trip to a Maid Cafe.
  • While we're on the topic of KEY, almost every girl in Air qualifies as this, especially Misuzu.
  • Ooyama, Tenshi/Angel/ Kanade and Shiina from Angel Beats!!.
    • Especially Tenshi.◊ So moe, she joint-dominated the International Saimoe League in 2011 with Misaka Mikoto, went through the entire regular season without losing once, came very close to winning the whole competition altogether, and is, if anything, even more powerful in 2012.
    • Yui definately qualifies, as well as Yusa, Irie and Sekine.
  • Suzuhara Misaki from the manga version of Angelic Layer.
  • One Stormy Night: A rare male example is Mei the goat, mainly due to his charming and friendly interactions with Gabu and the other characters.
  • Arslan was always rather moe for an avenging Warrior Prince, but this scene in the first ED of the 2015 series seals is. Also notice Daryun's reaction.
  • Assassination Classroom:
    • After Koro-sensei's upgrades, Ritsu's moe level goes through the roof. She develops a sunny disposition, really cute mannerisms, and a desire to befriend her classmates as they work together to assassinate their teacher. She's appropriately nicknamed in-series as "Box Full of Moe" later.
    • Nagisa is incredibly adorable due to how nice he is and how harmless and approachable he appears. He even forms a Moe Couplet with the aggressive-and-scary Karma, who is his long-time friend.
    • Kayano is cute and cheerful as well, although it's more intentional on her part so as to hide her true nature.
    • Kurahashi invokes this in-series, being popular with her classmates for her upbeat personality, and as one boy had commented in their poll of the girls, "charming poses". Her love for all living things will also endear her to many an animal lover.
    • Yukiko Kanzaki. She’s just as lovable to both her classmates and the fans. In fact, she is the class idol because all of the boys have crushes on her and all the girls are her friends. Why is she so popular? Two reasons according to the boys: "a great personality and super cute looks".
    • In a strange way, Itona. How short he is and how wide his eyes are hold a big cuteness factor when combined with his awkwardness around other people.
  • Astro Boy: The titular Astro is a very kindhearted, selfless and adorable young Robot Kid courtesy of Osamu Tezuka.
  • Attack on Titan manages to have it, without ruining the otherwise grim atmosphere of the series.
    • Krista is referred to as the "Goddess" of the 104th, being an Unkempt Beauty and extremely kind. She's so cute even her Ambiguously Bi comrade wants to marry her.
    • Armin is small, soft-spoken, blond, caring, often doubts himself when compared to his badass friends, and voiced by a woman.
    • Bertolt is considered something of a memetic woobie in the fandom, as a result of his meek personality.
  • Azumanga Daioh:
    • Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga is considered by many to be incredibly moe and cute, though this dips into subjective territory since her main appeal ranges from this to horrific. However, she did make it into the 2002 Saimoe finals.
  • Arguably Sakaki. While her appearance lends itself more to the Huge Schoolgirl look, she completely nails the personality, especially in the way that her love for cute things being dashed constantly results in people feeling sorry for her.
  • And of course, who could forget little Chiyo? What with her being an Adorably Precocious Cheerful Child and all.
  • Tamaki-chan from Bamboo Blade is so moe it hurts.
  • Beastars: Though Haru the small, white dwarf rabbit qualifies, she's primarily a deconstruction of this. Haru is almost a textbook example of Moe, as far as her initial appearance and personality go. She's a sweet introvert, a small, adorable girl, and is often the target of unjustified bullying. However, she notices that other people, especially men's, tendencies to try to care and protect her come with a side of condescension and a lack of consideration for her as an equal and as a woman, feeling infantilized by this treatment. She goes on to become very sexually active and assertive in an attempt to get people to respect her, and a lot of her arc focuses on how she commands respect and attention from a society that wouldn't give her that due to her appearance.
  • Berserk manages to have some of these, and also manages to portray them with nuance in order to avoid ruining the otherwise grimdark setting that's exactly the opposite of moe.
    • Princess Charlotte, a very straight example of Princess Classic: sheltered, innocent, and very cute. Unfornately, this doesn't protect her from the crap that goes on in the series.
    • Erika, Godo's daughter. A little girl who is also training to be a blacksmith, and one of the few unambigously optimistic/happy people in the series.
    • Schierke brings a dose of moe to Guts's companions. Another young little girl, unambiguously on the side of good, shy, cute, and while refined and mature for her age she has still a sense of innocence and vulnerability, mostly seen when she loses her mentor Flora. The fact that she is a very powerful witch and has access to frankly terrifying powers doesn't stop the moe.
  • Most of the male cast in Big Windup!. Despite being a sports manga, it's more or less the female-targeted equivalent of a moe show in that there are tons of quirky male characters and has a large female fanbase who...aren't there for the baseball.
    • The protagonist Mihashi Ren is the most prominent example. He's got crippling social anxiety, cries a lot and is very much dependent on the care of his teammates due to his obvious mental health problems. It's not hard to feel protective instinct kicking in when watching any scenes where he appears. He's also got a cute, youthful looking character design, goofy facial expressions and a quirky personality.
  • Maylene from Black Butler is clumsy, bespectacled, and blushes easily. She's also a maid. And we love her for it. She's also a crack sniper, but that's just a bonus!. Plenty of extra characters count for this, too, but as for the main/recurring cast, there's:
    • Ciel fits this quite nicely as well. In fact in certain flashback scenes, he's so moe, it's almost obscene.
    • Elizabeth Middleford tries to be this, but the fanbase doesn't view her that way. At least not until her backstory comes in...
    • Finny could be classed as moe as well. What, with having the big green eyes, blond hair that he holds back with clips and an undeniably innocent expression, many people fangirl every time he comes on screen.
    • Snake is described near-perfectly by this page. Shy? Check. Quirky? Check. Socially awkward? Check, check, check.
    • Alois' "little brother," Luka, definitely qualifies in the second anime. He looks like a character popped right out of K-On! and cut their hair short. For that matter, Alois himself showed shades of this towards the end when his I Just Want to Be Loved personality came into full throttle. Especially when he genuinely cried over what's happened thus far.
    • A new female addition is Sieglinde Sullivan◊. She's a cute, Big Eater who's so helpless she can't even walk by herself due to having bound feet.
  • Train Heartnet from Black Cat, during the time when he got shot with a Lucifer bullet and reverted back to being a kid. Just the whole transformation exudes "Moe" vibes. It's complete with his original clothes falling off of him because they're suddenly too big for him, he blinks innocently several times, and says "eh?" in a very cute, high voice. Later, he's even shown to be forced to wear Eve's dress temporarily, since no one else had clothes that were his size. The epitome of Moe for a young boy◊.
  • The flashback in the Black Lagoon episode "Little Soldier Girls" reveals the young Balalaika to have been like this. See for yourself◊.
  • Nel from Bleach, on account of being the most adorable little kid, and she's every bit as adorable in her adult form.
    • Orihime Inoue counts as moe as her big droopy eyes, spacy attitude, and eventual cutie-breaking sometimes overshadow her hotness. Her image song is just adorable.
      • Orihime◊ is pure◊ unadulterated◊ particularly adorable, it's easy to see why fans love her and her innocent demeanor.
      • She's even more Moe now that the anime came back from the Zanpakuto filler arcs, with bigger eyes and rounder facial features.
    • Momo Hinamori just reeks of Moe. Cute and willowy, even her name sounds Moe Moe! Her Zanpakutou Spirit, Tobiume, being the one little girl of the cast, also qualifies big time.
    • Rukia◊ fits this trope rather nicely as well.
    • Kotetsu Isane, the 4th Squad VC is very possibly the moest of them all in Bleach, and consistently presented as such.
    • Hanatarō Yamada, seventh seat of the 4th squad, is about as moe as a male character can get. When he got a volume cover, it was of him tripping over his own feet.
    • Also, Nemu and Ururu count.
    • Now add Mareyo Omaeda, daughter of Marenoshin and youngest sister of Marechiyo, former and current leiutennants of 2nd division. She's so uber-adorable that she can even get the fans to start liking Marechiyo, arguably the least popular character in the manga, when he stops acting like an arrogant jerk to make her feel better, coz she scared.
  • Dengaku Man from Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. The little guy is adorable! Sure, he can be rather crazy, but...
  • The final, iron-clad ur-example for what is identified as the modern trope is Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura. While it's quite arguable that the entire show can be classified as moe (even though it's aimed at young girls), Miss Kinomoto takes the cake, between her clumsiness, her age-based cuteness, her verbal tics, and her city-crushing omni-powers. What makes CCS and Sakura so notable is that the show's run marks the point when the industry noticed what kind of Periphery Demographic Sakura (alongside Rei and Amelia) had, and how much they were willing to spend on her; this was noticed, the money was counted... and the producers began to create works to match. Modern moe shows sprang to life not very long after CCS ended its television run. In fact, Sakura won the inaugural Saimoe Tournament back in 2002.
  • Kazari Uiharu from A Certain Scientific Railgun is probably her series' moe character. Bit clumsy and frequently gets played upon by her friend Ruiko, she has a fair amount of charm that can enamor the audience to her.
  • Izuru Hino from Change 123, with her Tareme Eyes eyes, cheerful smile, and gentle and peaceful nature...at first. Later we discover that she is actually a Badass Adorable and that those bunnies which she tended weren't exactly her pets.
  • Azmaria seems to fit the bill in Chrono Crusade—in fact, the anime stripped down enough of her importance that moe seemed to be the only reason she was in it. (Disturbingly, she's also one of the characters that's easiest to find hentai of.) For the girls, woobies Chrono and Joshua seem to fit the bill.
  • The same is true of CLANNAD. Some of them (like Kotomi) still manage to stand out.
    • Kyou actually lampshades Kotomi's moe-ness in the visual novel:
      Kyou: That girl... how do I say this... she has this aura that seems like a little child, right? Like you can't just leave her alone, or like it kinda tickles your maternal instincts...
  • Claudine: Maura is an adorable, hardworking maid who you just want to hug.
  • Sakura's mom in Code:Breaker is a true Moe Blob: she's the size of a small child and loooooves playing dress up but since she's Sakura's adopted mom, no one knows how old she is. There's also Sakura's classmate Nenene, who is also very tiny (yet two years older then Sakura), has glasses, and loves groping Sakura's breasts (she even names them).
  • Code Geass:
    • In R2, C.C.descends into this after she loses her memories. She gets better, though.
    • Also, Tianzi, Nunnally, Shirley, Euphie.
    • Suzaku, teary-eyed AND in a big, cuddly cat costume? Awww. Also, whenever he looks at Lelouch - with love, or with heartbroken anger, either way you just want to cuddle and comfort him.
    • Or Kaguya. Most adorable international political leader ever. And she's got the brains to match.
    • If you say Lelouch didn't look adorable when the rest of the student council forced him to wear cat ears, you are lying. Yes, beneath the mask of the ruthless rebel leader Zero is an Adorkable Bishounen Fallen Prince who definitely fits this trope.
    • Nina Einstein looks and most often acts the part, as the shy-but-genius glasses character of the Student Council, but her lack of self-esteem, in the world of the show, makes her unable to go against The Empire's attitudes of racism and Might Makes Right. After the one person who showed her kindness is killed, she gets manipulated into building nuclear weapons without fully understanding the horrors they would unleash. She manages to atone, however.
  • Yune of Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth is built to pull the heartstrings, and boy does she. She's tiny, always wears fancy kimonos, is occasionally clumsy, is adorably stubborn about being useful, and is emotionally scarred from intense guilt. Despite her overall maturity, her girlishness breaks through sometimes; she just can't see a cat without wanting to pet it!
  • The first two seasons of Da Capo feature a character actually named Moe. Given her large breasts, easygoing personality and way of speaking, she is indeed what many would consider moe.
  • Yin of Darker than Black is like Yuki above another Emotionless Girl character who seems to fall into this both because of mannerisms and woobie characteristics. Amber from the same series is probably a subversion. She looks and behaves most of the time like a very cute and cheerful young girl. However, this is due to the Merlin Sickness caused by her renumeration, and more importantly, her plan involves killing the population of Japan (although she has a somewhat justifiable reason).
  • Subverted in The Daughter of Twenty Faces; main character Chiko first appears to be weak, defenseless, naive and spoiled, but by the end of the first episode we've already learned how clever and perceptive she is and by the sixth episode she can easily hold her own physically against The Dragon of the first narrative arc - and in all her flipping around still manages to avoid any trace of a Zettai Ryouiki. Chiko is the embodiment of what happens when an Action Girl decides to go "the hell with moe".
  • Misa Amane from Death Note is this. Between her youthful features, Girlish Pigtails, and general chipperness, many fans missed the fact that she's actually older than Light. She's also a Yandere.
    • While he's intended to be creepy, L's odd quirks, soft voice, and big round eyes often push him into this territory, though in an Ugly Cute sort of way.
  • Himeko in Destiny of the Shrine Maiden. Blonde, clumsy, helpless, and oh so cute.
    • Really, any Kaishaku work is guaranteed to be drowning in moe.
  • D.Gray-Man:
  • This trope is way Older Than They Think with most of the female characters in Osamu Tezuka's Dororo.
  • 7 year old Son Goten of Dragon Ball Z, despite being a male character in a Shonen series, displays some traits of this trope. He is the happy, sweet, innocent, considerate, well-mannered, kind-hearted, cute and huggable little brother that we all wish we had, who is simply too good to ever be true outside a 1950's sitcom.
  • Chihiro Shindou, from ef: a tale of memories is both incredibly moe and very much woobie due to her condition. If one thinks that a girl with brain damage causing severe memory problems and missing one eye couldn't be moe, you'd be very wrong. Contrast this with her twin sister Kei, who is incredibly Tsundere (emphasis on tsun) and doesn't really fit the moe archetype.
  • Ellis from El Cazador de la Bruja (and to a lesser extent, Nadie) is completely moe. Taco song, anyone?
  • Nyu, the innocent split personality of Ax-Crazy Lucy from Elfen Lied. Also, Kisaragi with the bonus of being a Cute Clumsy Girl, despite which she doesn't last very long.
    • Nana and Mayu could've codified the trope if EL had been written early enough, and Kouta is a decent male example.
  • Pino in Ergo Proxy after being infected with the Cogito virus can be the cutest thing.
  • Sammy from Time of Eve is incredibly moe. Something about an Emotionless Girl coming out of her shell just tends to have that effect.
  • Sena of Eyeshield 21 is extremely moe, though whether it's intentional or not is up to interpretation. Nonetheless, in a series composed of manly men with nerves of steel, the main character's small, frail body, big dinner plate eyes, and timid yet strong willed personality make him extremely endearing to the audience.
    • According to the coach of the Ojo White Knights (a stern man in his 60s), men in meido costumes is quite moe. Cue the younger cast demanding Brain Bleach.
  • Various characters in Fairy Tail will qualify here and there, but the grand moe prize goes to Aries.
  • Satellizer L Bridget from Freezing can pull this off quite well, especially when she has her glasses on.
  • Franken Fran is a very weird kind of moe, as Fran is an unsettling mix of cute and horrifying, with the enormous bolts sticking out of her head and her sewn-shut Glasgow Grin.
  • Though this could be said of many characters in Fruits Basket, Kisa is the most straight example.
    • Momiji also counts as a male example. Once you learn his his backstory, you'll want to hug him, too.
  • Milfeulle, Mint, and Vanilla from Galaxy Angel.
  • In the episode "The Privileged" (Missing Hearts) of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a cute little girl in the hospital is actually named Moe, according to the script excerpt on the title card.
  • Gintama: Kagura. She's got wide, blue eyes, Rie Kugimiya's adorable voice and is generally a bit of a ditz. And she isn't too bad in a fight either.
  • Much of the show Girls Bravo revolves around this, especially with the main character Miharu, who is completely oblivious to her own attractiveness.
    • Yukinari counts, especially in the episode where he dressed as a girl.
  • Genki Guy Shuichi Shindou of Gravitation.
  • Most, if not all, of the various Gundam series all contain a moeblob (or several). Tiffa Adill of After War Gundam X takes the cake for eliciting "I-wanna-protect-her!" feelings from the audience, thereby being very moe without even trying that hard.
  • Every teenaged female character from Hayate the Combat Butler. Hayate himself falls into this during his crossdressing moment(s); so much so that Maria and Nagi feel uncomfortable, and Klaus, unaware it is Hayate, is instantly smitten.
  • And it's not just the teenagers either. Isumi's mom is just as moe as her daughter, and Nagi's late mother looked remarkably like Hayate.
  • Hayate even states (in a side story) that Izumi leads in this function.
  • Little Heidi from Heidi, Girl of the Alps, cheery, innocent and absolutely adorable. She's one of the reasons the series was popular with boys back in the day.
    • This trait, though somewhat downplayed, is otherwise kept up in Studio 100's remake.
  • Several characters from Hetalia: Axis Powers. Notable examples include Italy (especially when a child), Liechtenstein, Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, Iceland, and Latvia. Every major character has some of this appeal. It's the franchise best known for moe males.
  • The titular Bocchi from Hitoribocchi no OO Seikatsu is incredibly shy and endearing.
  • From Hiyokoi, the main character Hiyori Nishiyama is a positively TINY high school student (at 140 cm), shy, adorable and often described as reminiscent of a chick (as in baby bird). She probably rivals Mikuru Asahina. Unlike Chiyo Mihama, she's as old as her fellow classmates. She also cries a lot and likes to hide in lockers when stressed, upset or cornered.
  • Eru Chitanda and Mayaka Ibara from Hyouka.
  • Aiko from I"s has shades of Moe. She's cute, adorable, a little helpless, sometimes goofy and more than once forgetful.
  • Ika, the squid girl protagonist of Squid Girl. She's trying to invade the human world, but isn't taken seriously because she's just too darn cute (childlike, frequently ditzy, clumsy when tentacle-less, etc.) to really be an evil invader...right? Even when she actively attacks people, they usually just think she's goofing around.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
    • Phantom Blood: Robert E. O. Speedwagon, while physically far, far different from the average Moe, is still considered one due to his devotion and support of Jonathan Joestar, to the point he's often named Moewagon by the fandom.
    • Golden Wind: Narancia Ghirga, the smallest (but surprisingly, not the youngest) member of Passione who still acts like a kid despite being 17, doing things like chasing frogs with Mista and being bad at math. Although he's far from helpless and has a powerful Stand and ends up killing no less than four people by the end of Part 5, with even the Big Bad nearly succumbing to his Stand, he's just so wide-eyed and innocent and loves his friends so much that he would die for them. And his past is so very, very tragic.
  • K seems to be on a mission to give us every type of Bishōnen that fans could possibly have a taste for, but moe is one of the ones they pull of spectacularly.
    • Shiro - wide-eyed, mischievous, a bit scatterbrained, and so precious. Bonus points for his tragic backstory. And Parasol of Prettiness. And that everyone seems to have an inexplicable desire to cook for him and protect him...
    • Misaki Yata manages to be this - tough guy outside, soft, fluffy inside; Gender-Blender Name, looks like he's 13 even though he's 19/20... and the blushing...
    • They're not bad with the girls, either - just look at Anna, the Red Clan's Elegant Gothic Lolita Token Mini-Moe. And then she Awakens as the Red King and gains a lot of new powers, but it just makes her even cuter.
  • Kaiji often gets called moe or even a moeblob, as part of Memetic Mutation. He is both male and not really moe, but the sheer amount of woobieness makes him look moe in the eyes of fans.
    • In fact due to the complete lack of female characters and most of the male characters are more on the manly side. The show is about as un-moe as you can get.
  • Quite possibly all of the female characters in Kanon are arguably Moe. They all seem to have one quirk or another that just makes them adorable in their own way.
  • Hazumu of Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl is a strong example, being prone to bouts of tears. Almost a male example, as we see flashbacks of his childhood, before he became a she. (Gender-swapped by aliens. No, seriously.)
  • Sawako Kuronuma from Kimi ni Todoke is definitely this from the audience's perspective. She's incredibly shy and innocent, and a bit of a ditz.
  • The titular Komi Shouko from Komi Can't Communicate. Her in-world beauty aside, her portrayal as a doe-eyed mouthless chibi with Tareme Eyes makes her look extra huggable. When her social anxiety acts up and she freezes in place, one just wants to give her a comforting hug. When she plucks up the courage to speak, one wants to give her headpats in congratulation. And When She Smiles, one wants to keel over from diabetes.
  • Mio Akiyama from K-On!. There's a reason why she's the most popular character, although Azu-nyan and Yui aren't far behind.
  • Ui's Christmas flashback is a prime example of moe. Along with her sister, they can turn this trope up to eleven on occasions.
  • And there's the fact that Azusa won Saimoe 2010.
  • For every character in K-On! essentially; they are so full of Moe their eyes are an adorable shade of pink. There isn't even any male recurring characters for crying out loud. The entire show is based on its Moe value.
  • Moe Sagisawa of the little-known (to Westerners) anime Kyoryu Wakusei is a possibility for the Trope Namer. As in the case of Hotaru Tomoe, her name and year of the anime's debut coincide perfectly with the earliest uses of the term.
  • Then there's Little Busters!, where not only are most of the girls very moe (especially Kud, Komari, Rin, and Mio), the protagonist himself has a particularly girly, young-looking face, a kind personality, and an illness that causes him to fall asleep often. The other girls even outright use the term 'moe' for him in one scene in which he is Dragged into Drag and cooed over by them.
  • Love Hina
  • Lucky Star is well known for its moe appeal, and the trope itself is frequently lampshaded and discussed In-Universe:
    • When Miyuki talks about how absentminded and clumsy she is, Konata tells her that "these are not faults, but elements of moe". And then deconstructs the dojikko elements by dismissing them as something cute in anime, but annoying in real life.
    • Tsukasa also certainly qualifies as an Adorkable example of this. It also doesn't hurt that she is arguably the show's biggest Woobie. She also made it to the quarterfinals during the 2007 Saimoe Tournament and was also the runner-up of the 2008 Saimoe Tournament.
    • Yutaka as well, due to being a small, innocent Delicate and Sickly girl. Especially in the dub — her voice actress is Hynden Walch, voice of Starfire and young Nia. The back of DVD volume 4, supposedly Minoru Shirashi's*  thoughts, has this to say:
    She doesn't attend school too often, she's a bit frail that way but I think that's what I like about her. I just get this feeling like I must protect her! She's so moé!
    • Speaking of Minoru, he probably counts as well.
    • To set the record straight, both Miyuki and Yutaka were outright called "walking moe points" by Konata. And, what's more, the manga called themselves moe-yonkoma— the genre of yonkoma that started with Azumanga Daioh, and hence maybe should be listed below with Hidamari Sketch etc...
    • Kagami's Tsundere behavior (especially when she shows her more vulnerable side) has her frequently fall into this. Naturally, Konata lampshades it, much to Kagami's anger. She was even the winner of the 2008 Saimoe Tournament.
  • Ranka from Macross Frontier. She once stopped an uprising by airdropping onto the battlefield and singing. The fighting Zentradi stopped dead.
    • Arguably a deconstruction where, despite her moé points (or because of them), she royally screws up in the last few episodes.
  • Magical Girl Warrior shows aimed at an older male audience, such as Lyrical Nanoha.
    • Nanoha herself became even cuter by having a cute partner, one major reason for the strong Nano/Fate fandom despite its occasional vagueness. When Nanoha is older, the addition of Vivio lets her show off her big sister/motherly traits.
      • Nanoha was the 2005 Anime Saimoe Tournament winner, and Fate was the runner-up of the 2006 tournament, only to lose to Suiseiseki.
    • And don't get me started on Nanoha and Fate's adorable adopted daughter, Vivio, who exists primarily to tug at the heartstrings.
    • To say nothing of Hayate when she was a little girl...
    • Caro is an adorable 10 year old girl with a sad past, a cute relationship with her partner, and after 4 years she still doesn't grow more than a few centimeters at the most. Her first action in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS is to trip and fall on an escalator for god's sake.
    • Lindy Harlaown from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
  • Magi: Labyrinth of Magic
  • Momo from March Comes in Like a Lion. It's as if her character exists almost solely to exude her childlike charm and provide cute moments for the story.
  • Ruri from Martian Successor Nadesico may also be a prototype as a young Emotionless Girl and Deadpan Snarker. she's definitely a Rei Ayanami Expy, so that lends a lot or credence.
  • Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has many very huggable characters, but the young dragon girl, Kanna Kamui takes it up to eleven by being a cute childlike sleepyhead that many characters In-Universe find absolutely adorable.
  • Mob Psycho 100 has the titular Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama. He is a little unconventional than most examples on this list given his show's rather crude artstyle, both for the manga (especially the manga) and the anime. While his design can be considered cute for his series' standards (and the anime did crank up his moeness significantly. Both in appearance and mannerisms.) what truly made him endearing is his kindness, humility, innocence, and earnestness to get better as a person while also probably being the world's strongest esper.
    • For side characters, the show also has Mukai, the Token Mini-Moe of Scars. A genki little girl with the ability to telekinetically control puppets.
  • Monster Musume has Manako, the Friendly Sniper. Whereas most of the cast is played for fanservice, her screentime mostly revolves around her social anxiety and shyness.
  • Harpy from Mou Jou De Oyasumi, who wants to experience human culture and tries to be friends with the princess.
  • In My Bride is a Mermaid, a horrific episode of men crossdressing as schoolgirls and catgirls and trying to play off moe stereotypes culminates in San suddenly wearing cat ears — something everyone agrees is incredibly moe (before being sent flying).
  • Despite being a shonen manga, My Hero Academia is filled to the brim with cute, lovable characters.
    • Izuku "Deku" Midoriya, a rare example of a shonen protagonist fitting this trope, is a cute, wide-eyed young boy who wants to be a hero more than anything, has been bullied his entire life for not having a Quirk, has cripplingly low self-esteem, and cries all the time, traits that make the viewing audience want to pick him up and squeeze him like a teddy bear. And, if possible, he's even cuter as a tiny toddler in an All Might onesie.
    • Ochako Uraraka, a cheery, bubbly, pink-cheeked girl determined to become a hero so she can make life easier for her parents. She and Izuku form a sweet Moe Couplet.
    • Tsuyu Asui, a frog-themed heroine and the cutest of Cute Monster Girls. Despite her stoic demeanor, her rare smiles are absolutely precious. And when she cries, no one can resist the urge to give her a hug.
    • Momo Yaoyorozu, a spoiled and sweet ojou-chan who gets all happy and bouncy when excited to spend time with her friends. Sure, she can take care of herself, but the reveal of her self-esteem issues doesn't hurt. Watch what happens when her classmates beg her to help them study (because she has the best grades in the class) and she gets excited about them coming over to her house, talking about having her mother open up the hall and asking what kind of tea they like:
      Everyone, thinking: (with Love Bubbles and dazed smiles) It's like she casually slapped me with the huge difference in how we were born...but her bounciness is so cute that I don't care!
    • Eri, an adorable 6-year-old, girl Izuku rescued during the Internship Arc. Her preciousness has earned her more fans as she found happiness during the School Festival Arc.
  • My-HiME skewered the concept in a Post-Episode Trailer (where a lot of things did indeed "burn") as well as foreshadowing the show's darker themes much later.
  • Naruto: Hinata Hyuga is a cute Shrinking Violet and the resident Nice Girl in the franchise, and she invokes the desire to protect both in the work and for audiences, despite her Lady of War and Silk Hiding Steel tendencies.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi:
    • Setsuna is an interesting case, as her friendship with Konoka was essentially a mechanism to show off her moe traits, until it was emphasized into a romantic feeling.
    • The manga series itself is notable. Class 3-1 and their Magic World friends represent most of the moe traits with widespread popularity; the strongest evidence being early notes for the series released as promotional material containing a chart with over 50 traits he thought would be interesting (with each girl seemingly getting about two or three). Robot Girl, Cute Mute, Tsundere, Elegant Gothic Lolita, twin girls, Cute Witch, tomboy, Shrinking Violet bookworm... with Akamatsu-san's frequent Naughty Tentacles, pantsu and Clothing Damage situations.
    • You can't have a page on Moe in anime and manga without mentioning Negi.
    • Even the current Big Bad and his minions have Moe elements. especially Shiori, whose face on the last page of chapter 283 is perhaps one of the most Moe things yet seen in the manga.
    • The concept is invoked when the normally Tsundere Chisame ends up entering a cosplay contest during the festival. She gets overcome with stage fright and has a minor breakdown on stage... only to end up winning because of this trope.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion:
    • One of the ur-prototypes for the modern type is widely agreed to be Rei Ayanami; exotically beautiful, physically and emotionally vulnerable (even if it isn't obvious at first), in utterly pitiable circumstances once you discover them, coolly logical where others are uncertain... and, well, occasionally shown bandaged up. An absolutely staggering amount of what constitutes the modern trope has its origins in Rei, which is particularly hilarious when you consider that the creator was trying to make Rei disturbing. Talk about a miss.
    • Shinji Ikari could be considered a rare (and early) example of a male moe character, as he hits all the basic traits - he's cute & vulnerable, cries often, and gets into situations where you want to give him a hug, the basic building blocks of moe.
    • Maya. The way she cringes at even the slightest bit of violence (though technically more of a Woobie trait...) makes her quite Moe.
    • Then there is Misato who is so tough on the outside yet tender in her heart, male fans will feel an irresistible urge to do her laundry, cook for her and hand out hugs on demand.
  • Kirika from Noir is very moe. She may be a cold-blooded killer, but you still want to hug her.
  • One Piece:
    • After over 600 chapters, the incredibly moe Princess Shirahoshi appeared. She's a socially awkward, well-endowed, Prone to Tears ingenue mermaid who, despite or perhaps because of the fact that she's possibly of comparable size to their ship, is just so darn cute! It helps that in the very first panel where her face is seen, she is crying.
    • Nami was this during the Arlong arc which served as an important part of her Character Development same with Robin during the Water 7 arc and this is both as adults in the present and children in the flashbacks. Obviously afterwards this takes a backseat to the action.
    • During the Punk Hazard Arc, we have Mocha, quite possibly the sweetest, most adorable little... er, big girl in the series thus far. After finding out how dangerous the "candies" Caesar Clown were feeding her and the other children, she overdosed on the remaining batch to prevent her friends from eating them when they were going through withdrawal. This caused the poor girl to reel over in pain and cough up blood! It's a hard scene to watch. Thankfully, Mocha survives, but seeing a kid this young having to make such a lethal decision will definitely invoke this trope on nearly anyone and she was already very Moe to begin with.
    • There's also Princess Mansherry from the Dressrosa arc and Toma from the Wano arc.
  • Ichigo of the Nico Nico Douga ONA series On-tama! never fails to have certain characters become extremely infatuated with her because of this.
  • One of the major themes parodied in Ouran High School Host Club, where the Host Club members each cultivate an exaggerated trait/fetish for their female guests, and their self-elected consultant Renge frequently monologues her opinion of what is moe to girls. More satirically, Club President Tamaki views his feelings towards Haruhi as moe (protective and fatherly) even though his classmates realize it's his thick-headed way of dealing with actually being attracted to her despite her not being impressed by him.
    • Haruhi as a whole could be seen as Moe. Despite her general snarky, and apathetic nature, she has moe traits. Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru never fail to point out how 'plain' and 'dull' she is, treating it as more of an endearing quality rather than an insult. The boys also love to dress her up in all sorts of outfits (granted, most are unisex or male—and Haruhi's not enthusiastic about it). She has few weaknesses, with the exception of a Fear of Thunder, and is painfully Oblivious to Love. Read chapters 57 and 58 for an unusually Moe Haruhi (she goes back to her normal self a chapter or so later).
    • Haninozuka Mitsukuni is definitely moe. Although he's 18 at the beginning of the series, he is child-sized and still takes afternoon naps, adores sweets, and carries around his precious bunny. Honey could also fit under Badass Adorable, considering he is more than capable of taking care of himself.
  • Young Gilbert in PandoraHearts, but the (cheerfully sadistic) people around him like to create situations that make him even more moe. This is taken to extremes◊ in the first DVD omake.
  • Played straight, but taken to goofy extremes, in Penguin Musume Heart, where Sakura goes into fangirl rage over one of her classmates who manages to hit every moe category short of having animal ears.
  • Despite anyone watching the show probably not having a problem with an older lead female, Mizuho's age in Please Teacher! is discretely never mentioned. Adding to the problem is that the plot treats her position as Kei's teacher as being the illicit detail, and not apparently an age gap. She seems to inhabit a magical twenties-something spot that is also somehow young enough to give her a little sister and a first kiss during the show's run. Mizuho's mother is no help, as she REALLY has no problem with Kei being younger...
    • Mizuho is listed as 23 years old on several sites, making her five or eight years older than Kei, depending on whether you use Kei's mental or physical age.
  • Adorably Precocious Child Shin in Prétear is the youngest member of the Leafe Knights. He had to run from a brigade of school girls.
  • Yellow-themed Pretty Cure since Urara/Cure Lemonade of Yes! Pretty Cure 5 tends to fit into this trope in some way. Of special note is Yayoi/Cure Peace of Smile Pretty Cure!: you know you're the popular one of the bunch when your first S.H.Figuarts figurine is of you and not the Pink-themed leader. And you follow that up with three Figuarts ZERO figures.
  • Assuming you don't hate her guts, C-ko could be considered moe before the term even existed.
  • Psychic Squad: Kaoru loves to see how much moe she can squeeze out of the other girls (she's the one who insisted on pleated skirts for their uniforms), especially when she sees that one of her school friends is not only moe, but dojikko as well. Two other characters love moe anime too, but these Otaku are looked upon as weirdos.
    • However, the series' crown prince of moe is none other than The Children's handler, Minamoto. It's the glasses...and making the girls eat their vegetables.
  • In Psycho-Pass's False Utopia world of 2114 Japan, law enforcement and enforcers have all become hardened, by-the-book crime-fighters and executioners. And then there's Akane Tsunemori. The wide-eyed, optimistic, innocent and Naïve Newcomer (before taking a level in badass) manages to continue "D'aaaaaaw"-ing the hearts of fans everywhere, even when she's busy disintegrating people into piles of bloody sludge.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Madoka Kaname is a very good example. Pink hair that she wears in Girlish Pigtails? Check. Big pink Tareme Eyes? Check. Cute frilly outfit with lots of pink? Check. One of the kindest, sweetest, most selfless people you have ever met? Check. Often a subject of Break the Cutie? Double check. And seeing her cry is really heartbreaking, too. She didn't win the 2013 Saimoe competition for nothing.
  • Reborn! (2004):
    • Tsuna, after the Art Evolution.
    • Chrome Dokuro has always been Moe.
  • Going by the series timeline, glasses-wearing nerd Yomiko Readman should be about thirty years old during R.O.D. the TV. But unlike Nenene, Yomiko looks exactly the same as she did in early stories.
  • Aka Onda of the short-lived animated adaptaion of Rec is an over 18 example.
  • The appropriately named Moe Katsuragi in Risky☆Safety.
  • Almost all of the main female characters in Rosario + Vampire have shades of this from time to time, and believe it or not, Inner Moka is probably at the top of the moe totem pole, at least in recent chapters. Still, the rest of the cast all have their moments.
    • Fong-Fong is a male example.
  • Suiseiseki from Rozen Maiden was the 2006 Saimoe winner
    • By virtue of being her twin, Souseiseki qualifies as well, albeit in a different way. She was also the runner-up in the 2005 Saimoe Tournament, only to be beaten by Nanoha Takamachi.
  • Sailors Saturn and Mercury in Sailor Moon are prototype cases - in fact, there's a theory that the term Moe was originally derived from Saturn's civilian name, Tomoe Hotaru (written as 土萌; even the relevant kanji is the same.) Researchers such as Patrick W. Galbraith and Tamaki Saitō have found that "moe" was first used in 2channel in the 1990s, discussing female characters who were "hybrids of the lolicon and bishoujo (beautiful girl) genres". As this describes exactly Hotaru Tomoe, and coincides with Hotaru Tomoe's height of popularity in 2channel, there is likeliness in the theory that Sailor Moon is the Trope Namer.
    • To take away from Hotaru's cuteness is the fact that she has the same last name as an 11th century female war hero who could probably kick Miyamoto Musashi's ass if she wanted to.
    • Chibi-Usa would jump between Moe and Bratty Half-Pint during Sailor Moon R.
  • Kyrie from Sands of Destruction is another male example. He can qualify in both of the manga and game version, but the Moe trait is especially apparent in the anime version.
  • Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei:
    • Fitting the Dysfunction Junction of the series, Kiri Komori is very moe, and one of the friendliest, most well-adjusted characters of the series, despite being an extreme agoraphobic.
    • Maria, who is moe even to the characters in the show. See the quote above.
  • Most of the female charaters in School Rumble are moe.
  • SD Gundam features many characters and mechs from the Gundam franchise, now Super-Deformed and put into generally more lighthearted scenarios, like a parody of the Sengoku period, a parody of medieval fantasy, a parody of American Action Movies, etc. However, it's not always cutesy.
  • Marian, from Sei Juushi Bismarck...until it was Macekred into Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.
  • If you don't find the eponymous character from Serial Experiments Lain to be creepy she can be very very Moe.
  • One episode of Sgt. Frog features a one-shot character rife with disjointed moe characteristics: a cute, pale, spacey, soft-spoken, transfer student prone to bad luck who's interested in the occult. When Fuyuki takes a shine to her, his secret admirer Momoka outright describes her as a "retarded moe character."
  • Shaman King has quite a few cute characters, most of them male. Yoh, Manta, Lyserg, take your pick. (Heck, Chocolove could be this, if you get past how... different he is in terms of appearance.)
  • Amelia from Slayers seems to be another somewhat-prototype for the trope (having been around since before the trope was really identified at large). Although much (much) more go-getting, positive, and active than most modern characters who fall under the banner, she is the youngest of the four cast members, is very naive, possesses a rather impressive chest for her supposed age (14 in the first season!), comes from a fairly chaste background and religious city-state, and is often used as a punching bag by the villains to show how evil they are, which seems intended to produce an extremely sympathetic and protective feeling from the audience. It doesn't seem a coincidence that a larger number of shows like this began airing in the years following Slayers going off the air.
    • Which makes it kind of weird that if you watch Slayers now, Amelia could easily qualify as a parody or subversion of the trope, as the very qualities that make her Moe are also exaggerated to such degrees that they're actually a little unnerving, and her naivete has sometimes put her in genuinely dangerous situations.
    • There's also episode 15 of Slayers TRY, where Lina is transported to an Alice in Wonderland-esque bizarro-world, complete with costume. She's absolutely adorable.
  • Sorcerer Hunters: Lila in the first episode of the anime. She's a pre-teen girl with a Precocious Crush on the episode's villain, who exploits her for his own nefarious schemes.
  • Soul Eater:
    • Crona. Cute, huggable, emotionally vulnerable and a massive woobie. Substantially less so in the manga as the later part of the plot progresses.
    • Marie is older than most examples, but she's quite cute herself.
    • And on the villainous side, Eruka Frog. Her scared squeals and faces, her fidgety demeanor and her incredible adoration for frogs make her pretty cute.
  • Spy X Family:
    • With her wide eyes and adorably innocent demeanor, it's no wonder why many fans consider Anya absolutely precious.
    • Yor too, particularly Saori Hayami's performance, which depicts her as a cuddly womanchild and sweetheart who just happens to be a walking slaughterhouse. Meanwhile, in the English dub, Natalie Van Sistine depicts her with a mature contralto instead, making her come across as more dignified, yet also comically serious due to her inability to read and enact normal social cues.
  • Strike Witches: Little girls with magical abilities that fly around in magic-powered boots to fight extradimensional evil. They grow animal ears and a tail when they use magic. The girls from Fuso (Japan) wear one-piece school bathing suits all the time, some others wear just a jacket and lowleg pantsu.
  • Sweetness & Lightning has Tsumugi, an absolutely adorable little girl who goes through so many Break the Cutie moments that you just want to hug her. It's obvious why thanks to Gigguk, she spawned the "I will protect this smile" meme.
  • It's a little surprising that Sasami of Tenchi Muyo! and Pretty Sammy isn't considered a prototype case.
  • Nia Teppelin from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is very, very moe. Actually well used, as she counterweights Yoko's Stripperifficness and Simon's Hot Blood.
    • It doesn't hurt that she seems to be completely fearless. See her interactions with Kittan and Adiane in her first two episodes.
    • Disturbingly: Viral. Sure he's Mr. Fanservice, and sympathetic, but that only really applies after the timeskip (particularly after the Lotus-Eater Machine). Before that he was treated as moe by the Estrogen Brigade because of his Villain Decay. Why fangirls, why?
      • I chalk it up to the scene where he was beat up by Adiane. Not only was he bandaged in a similar style like Rei Ayanami, but he looked very young and vulnerable there.
    • The Guren Gakuenhen manga parodies the concept when Kamina gets a little confused as to what "Moe" is supposed to convey.
      • Probably a pun on "moeru" which could either refer to 萌える ("blooming," and the word that "moe" comes from) or 燃える ("burning").
    • Prior to the timeskip, Simon is also pretty damn moe.
      • Simon can manage moe after the timeskip at times, too.
    • The robe-clad Yoko is ridiculously adorable.
    • Kittan of all people tends to be portrayed as moe in fan works (though that's usually only under certain circumstances).
    • Parallel Works: Kiyal's Magical Time, it is neigh impossible to not go crazy from the sheer amount of moe within those four minutes.
  • Sakuno Ryuzaki and Tomoka Osakada from The Prince of Tennis.
  • Despite being fully grown and decidedly masculine looking men, one of whom is actually in his 30's and has a daughter, Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and Keith Goodman from Tiger & Bunny are considered very moe — mostly because they are complete dorks.
  • Retasu from Tokyo Mew Mew possesses a few traits that could make her this.
  • In To Love Ru, minus that lousy scumbag of a principal and Saruyama, everyone else in the cast... Rito/Riko included.
  • Trigun gives us Vash the Stampede, the "Pacifist with a Gun" who, despite his reputation, is a goof-ball and a surprisingly vulnerable guy. Some of his Face Faults are particularly adorable, and that little mol] by his eye probably helps.
  • Used with utmost hilarity and blatancy in Ultimate Girls, where the trope itself figures in the plot and is the source of the heroines' power needed to destroy the Monster Of The Day. It works so well with the cute and shy protagonist Silk, so much that she absolutely positively does not want the job!
  • Another Osamu Tezuka creation is Unico the Baby Unicorn from the manga series of the same name. He's an extremely adorable unicorn who just wants to make friends. Unico is very friendly but also very curious and doesn't like being lonely. His timid and shy nature is more empahtized in animated media (notably Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather, The Fantastic Adventures of Unico, and Unico in the Island of Magic)
    • Another character from the same series is Chao/Katy/Chloe the Cat, a cute kitten that wishes to become a human after getting abandoned by her owner. Her character design shares a similar dose of cuteness due to her cat form depicted with beady eyes, a pretty bow, and her black fur resembling hair.
    • Marusu (known as "Sphinx's Daughter" in the English Dub of the sequel film) is an adorable young sphinx who helps out Unico and Cheri after Kuruku had turned almost everybody into puppets. While he/she has a short-temper alongside being snarky around Unico. He/She's very sweet when it comes to cheering up Unico with his fear over Cheri no longer being his friend.
  • Lum from Urusei Yatsura is a very early example of moe, like in the first episode when she's crying because she's in love with a jerk who doesn't love her back.
  • Utawarerumono:
    • Aruruw; once she gets to know you, she can actually be rather manipulative.
    • That clumsy angel Kamyu.
  • Wagnaria!!:
    • Popura Taneshima manages to hire a new coworker simply by being adorable.
      Takanashi: That ID and uniform... She's a senior at my high school? And she looks like a 12-year-old and acts this cute? Is this even possible?
      Taneshima: *ackshoo*
      Takanashi: It is!
    • Yachiyo and Izumi are this as well. Both are very adorable not in spite of their quirks, but because of them.
  • Subverted in Welcome to the NHK by creating a character that combines as many moe aspects as possible, with creepy results◊ (though the anime version◊ scales it back enough to actually be moe, though the girl still looks like she’s suffered severe brain damage).
    • The novel version is WORSE. Visualizing it is impossible, however, as the traits contradict!
    • Specifically, she is a childhood friend who is a Delicate and Sickly Meido robot, an apparition, alien, and a Kitsune.
    • The protagonist Satou would qualify as moe if he wasn't a creepy nerd in his twenties.
  • Rihoko in Witchblade anime is so adorable in the scene where she hugs the table stand when a fat barmaid tries to kick her out.
  • Hikaru Azuma from With the Light definitely has his own way of being cute, even his younger sister, Kanon.FF
  • Toboe of Wolf's Rain. Let's see: adorable, shy, clumsy, quirky, instills the need to hug? Yep, all of the above.
  • Every single girl in The World God Only Knows has a moe moment at some point (even girl Keima pulls it off. The most promiment ones are Elsie (300-year-old who looks like 14 and acts like 7), Tenri, and Shiori, the librarian.
  • Yuko, from ×××HOLiC, has a small monologue on moe in the book xxxHOLiC: Anotherholic:
    If someone has flaws or defects, but that is exactly what draws you to them, people call it moe. It's different from 'like,' where you're drawn to their good points, their strengths. 'Like' doesn't care for defects or flaws. Moe is the opposite of 'like' or 'dislike'.....
  • Shun Matsuoka from You and Me. There are plenty of blogs online that talk about how cute he is, and he's been called cute in the series itself. It helps that he is more girly than most actual girls.
  • Played half-seriously, half for laughs in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. In her first appearance, Rei/Blair is a 12-year-old girl who not only fills in the moe charm after being "uncovered" (she had pulled a Sweet Polly Oliver first), but has in her first deck a card named "Maiden In Love", whose monster form is the one of a very moe girl who uses her charm to gain the favor of other monsters and have them fall in love with her... as long as they're males. The moment Judai/Jaden summons a female monster, she snaps the "guys" out of it.
    • The Maiden in Love's effect only activated when she was attacked] Presumably, had Judai attacked with Burstinatrix rather than playing Burst Return and Polymerization, she'd have fallen for the Moe, too.
    • She also fits the mold when she returns in season 3, particularly once hospitalized.
  • Yugi Muto, the main protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh!; he's Adorkable, a Perky Goth, a Nice Guy and a Tiny Schoolboy! What about that doesn't scream "Moe"?! Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series even jokes about Yugi being mistaken for a baby panda because of how cute he is.
  • Can a Humongous Mecha be Moe? Well, if the mecha in question is Dolores from Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i, then yes.
  • Cute characters such as Bridget (Guilty Gear), Mizuho (Otoboku - Maidens Are Falling For Me), and Jun Watarase (Happiness) are often considered moe. The fact they are all guys is incidental.
  • Any work (and I mean any work) done by Koge Donbo. Her series are made of sheer Moe. Di Gi Charat, Pita-Ten, Kamichama Karin... yeah.
  • Midori No Makibao: For a work set in a world of Gonk, Makibao's mother is quite a beautiful racehorse to behold.

    Works or series that fall under this trope 

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